Something cold and hard pressed against her cheek. Better yet, something cold and hard pressed against her entire body. Her aching body, by the way. In the distance she could make out muffled noises. There was a light pressure on her shoulder. She slowly opened her eyes to blurred images. She blinked a few times, but that did not help clear her vision any. The muffled sounds were getting louder. She tried to lift herself up, but gravity proved to be too strong an opponent. She huffed, blinking again. More defined shapes started to take form before her eyes, and the jumbled sounds started to sound more like words.

"wbfuoeehhhh ohhh uhh errr!"

The noises had a strange rhythm to them, loud as they were. Lightning shook her head and attempted to raise her body up again. The pressure from before moved from her shoulder and gripped her elbow. Her vision still took its time to clear, but the voices were becoming defined much more quickly.

"Lehhhrrr gohhhh! Uhrrrr hurtinggg her!"

Fang. It was Fang's voice. Lightning felt a sudden jolt run up her spine as her memories surged back. They were in the Vestige. In some forbidden back room. They were… attacked?

"Miss? Miss? Can you hear me?" This was a new voice, much clearer than the others she had heard. A big blur now filled her vision. "Miss, are you alright?" Lightning slowly nodded, not knowing why but feeling that it was the right thing to do.

The louder voices from further away persisted. "You are resisting arrest. We will be obligated to use brute force if you do not comply."

"Comply?! She's just a kid! Get her out of those handcuffs! You're hurting her!"

Lightning's vision suddenly zeroed in. She pushed herself up from the ground as quickly as she could without dizzying herself. Handcuffs? She looked down at her hands, which were unrestrained and planted on the floor to help her keep her balance. Her stomach was queasy, like she was about to be sick. Her legs felt somewhat like jelly, but she could slowly feel the strength returning to them. "Take it easy, miss." She turned her head. The voice beside her belonged to a Guardian Corps officer, whose hand was now resting gently on her back.

Not even five feet away from her was Hope, splayed out across the floor, rubbing his head. A different officer was leaning over him and appeared to be asking him questions.

"Hope!" she coughed. Her throat was dry and her voice raspy.

Hope raised his head and turned it in her direction. He looked dazed. "Light? What... Where…"

Lightning wanted to respond to him, but she couldn't concentrate with all the racket going on in the background. She lifted herself further so that she was sitting back on her legs. Why was the room so loud?

"Miss." A gloved hand lightly gripped her shoulder. "Miss, are you able to provide your name along with your reason for visiting the Vestige today?"

"I… I, um…"

"Fang, I'll be alright! Stop—Ahh!"

"VANILLE!"

Lightning moved her head back to peek behind the security officer kneeling before her. "…Fang?"

Fang was kneeling on her hands and knees, surrounded by four Guardian Corp officers. Her wrists were cuffed in front of her and she had a pained look in her eyes. "Vanille!" She made a jump to stand but was quickly pushed down and held to the ground by one of the officer's boots.

"Oomph!"

Lightning's eyes widened. "Wait. What are—"

The officer kneeling beside Lightning squeezed her shoulder a bit tighter. "Don't worry, miss. We've got the situation under control."

Out the corner of her eye, she saw Hope slowly raise himself to sit upright. "Wh-what's going on?" His eyes darted around the room. "V-Vanille?"

Lightning directed her head to follow Hope's line of vision. Vanille was being forcibly dragged away by two big men, each with a heavy grip on her upper arms. Her hands had been bound behind her back. "What's the meaning of all of this?" Lightning didn't even realize that she had stood up.

"Don't worry. We're neutralizing the threat as we speak."

Lightning instinctively glanced towards the back wall. The weird structure that had been there before… It was gone. Then they must be talking about… "Ugh, no. Wait, there's been a big misunderstanding. Fang isn't a threat. She's just an idiot. Fang, will you calm down so these people can do their jobs?"

Lightning would have never predicted what had happened next. It all happened so fast. The officer holding Fang down with his boot was suddenly flung backwards, offending foot first, as Fang forcefully sprang to her feet.

"Somebody contain h-augh!"

The young woman was now in a full out frenzy with the group of surrounding officers. One officer lunged at her. She quickly ducked down and in one simple motion flipped him over. Another officer reached for her arm. She was able to grab his wrist first with her handcuffed hands, and twist him around, flinging him into different officer. More officers went in for the kill, some armed with debilitation whips.

Lightning took a deliberate step towards the fighting Pulsian, but was halted by a firm hand placed to her chest. She looked up. The officer was now standing next to her, a stern look plastered to his face. "Miss, I'm going to need you to also comply with the rules and stay back."

Lightning opened her mouth to question, but her head was snapped back in the direction of her partner when she heard a loud yelp.

"Fang!"

Using their whips, the officers had wrangled the teen to the floor. One whip was tightly wound around the girl's neck, while two more each gripped a leg. Fang writhed on the floor, pulling at the whip that was wound so tightly around her neck. As she struggled, she gasped and choked for air. "Please!" Vanille shouted, vainly fighting against the men that had forced her back. "Don't hurt her!"

"Is this really necessary?" Lightning quickly turned back to the officer. "She's a minor!"

"She's illegally trespassing on two different accounts, taken part in kidnapping, resisting arrest, attacking officers, and some of the inventory in this room has gone missing. She may even be plotting treason. We are using as much force as we need to. Now please, stand down."

Lightning stared at the officer in disbelief. "You can't be serious."

"How is she so strong?"

"I don't know, but can you do something fast? I don't think we can hold her down much longer!"

"This'll slow her down…"

A loud THWACK filled the room. Lightning felt her blood run cold.

"FAAAANNNNGGGG!" Vanille was now shrieking.

Lightning looked back over to the group of officers who were now tightly huddled around Fang. One held a large gun high above his head in the air. From behind them, she could still see Fang's lower body twisting, and pulling at her constraints. The movements were not as aggressive as before, but still had a certain amount of fervor.

"Auugh!" THWACK! The officer struck the butt of the gun down once again to what looked to be Fang's head region. Fang's body immediately stilled. Lightning couldn't move. She could barely think. Her body was frozen in shock. In the background she could faintly register Vanille's sobs.

"HEYYYY!" a deep voice bellowed. Out of nowhere, as if he had been shot out of a cannon, Snow bolted forward with his shoulder hunched. He rammed straight into the group of officers, knocking each of them down like they were bowling pins. Lightning clenched her teeth and pushed past the officer nearest her.

A hand tightly gripped her wrist to pull her back but she resisted.

ZZZZZZZZZ

Her body broke into a sharp and painful fit of shakes. A tingling sensation surged upwards, from her hand to her shoulder, spreading through her chest before travelling back to her shoulder and out through her hand again.

ZZZTTTTTTT!

Lightning released a shaky breath, a cool feeling washing over her, and turned her head. The officer was laid out on the ground, unconscious. On the ground next to him was a busted up looking taser with stray sparks shooting from it. Lightning subconsciously rubbed the fingers of her hand that had been pointing backwards to the officer together. Something was off.

Lightning wouldn't get any more time to think about the strange occurrence, for she felt a sudden sting in her neck. She immediately pawed at the spot. Something small and cylindrical shaped was jutting out from her skin. Once again, the world started losing shape and her vision became blurry.

Lightning awoke with a major headache. She rubbed her temples and sat up groggily. A downcast looking Hope was sitting on the floor next to the bench where she appeared to be laid out.

"You're up." It was more of a statement than a question.

"I'm up," she reiterated in confirmation. She rolled her eyes around in her sockets to take in her new settings. A cell. Shit. She threw her legs over the bench and spotted Snow, slouching against the wall on the opposite side of the tiny room. His black skullcap was messily crammed onto his somewhat drooped head. His eyes were bloodshot red and it didn't look as if he fully comprehended where he was. Lightning looked back down to Hope. "Fang? And Vanille?"

Hope's eyes could've answered the question all by themselves, but he still shook his head to drive the point home. "Well…" Lightning's thoughts were running rampant and her insides twisting, "How are you feeling? After everything? Are you hurt?"

Hope just looked at her again with those dejected eyes. He glanced distrustfully at the guard seated at a desk directly across from the cell, then back to Lightning. "What happened in there…"

"Was disgusting," Lightning finished, her stern eyes falling to the floor. In her mind, she couldn't stop replaying the image of Fang's body going limp after that loud crack. Yes, she did think that her assigned partner was a moron, but she didn't think she deserved the treatment that she had gotten back there.

"No, Light." Lightning brought her attention back to her young neighbor. "Before that. When… you know. What… what happened?"

In the excitement of their arrest, Lightning had almost forgotten about the encounter with the mysterious being. The thing that so effortlessly flailed them all around the room like little rag dolls...

"Do… think… probed us?" Snow slurred from his hunched position against the wall. Well, maybe he did have some clue as to where he was.

"Light." This time Hope had only whispered her name. She looked back down at him as he scooted close to her. "Look." He slowly lifted up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal a strange tattoo with curvy lines. "This was on my wrist when I came to."

Lightning stared wide-eyed at the mark. She didn't know why, but her hand instinctively rose and gripped her chest.

Her concentration was suddenly broken at the sound of a heavy door opening somewhere else in the room. "Colonel." The guard who had been seated outside of the cell stood abruptly and saluted.

"Shit…" Lightning breathed.

"At ease, soldier." A man dressed in a grayish-khaki suit stepped in front of the cell and peered in. His steely blue eyes locked with Lightning's crystal blue ones. He was a tall, full man. His face was creased with worry lines and somewhat more wrinkled than it should be for his age, but he was still considered to be more than attractive. He had neatly trimmed pink hair, a couple of shades darker and duller than Lightning's, that had streaks of white and silver on the side that seemed to bring more attention to his face... A face that was still staring sternly down at Lightning.

"Claire."

"Dad…"

Colonel Farron quietly sighed and turned back to the officer at the desk. "Been causing trouble, have they?"

The guard chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Teenagers will be teenagers. Good thing one of the arresting officers noticed the pink hair. He figured it couldn't be that common of a color and had them sent here instead of transferring them to PSICOM when he got her last name." He dug in his pocket and fished out a key. He walked to the side of the cell and pressed the key down on a reception pad. The cell wall immediately dissipated. "The big one might be a little dopey. He withstood a couple of tasers and tranqs. Cut some of his hair when we got him in here to send to the lab. Wanted to test him for drugs."

Farron grunted in understanding. "Snow," he said in a loud, commanding voice. Snow's head popped up, following the source of the noise. "Can you walk, son?"

Snow nodded his head vigorously and clambered to his feet, clumsily stumbling forward. Hope jumped up to walk beside him, wrapping both of his arms around Snow's waist to help steady him. The colonel looked back towards the guard at the desk. He lowered his voice a bit before asking, "So can we agree to have this little 'incident' stricken from the records?"

"Pshhh." The guard waved the question off as if it was the most foolish thing he had heard all day. "It wasn't even recorded in the first place. We've all done stupid things as kids. Hell, in my heyday I once got into a stash of transparent ooze that my brother had hidden under his bed. Woke up the next morning butt naked behind the display window of Creature Comforts, playing little spoon to a stuffed grizzly."

Farron eyed the guard derisively. "We've all had those days, haven't we…"

The guard smiled and nodded enthusiastically while Lightning slowly approached her father from behind. "Dad," she lightly touched her father's shoulder.

Farron turned his head to give her a cold stare. "Claire, whatever it is that you have to say, it can wait until we're home."

"But… No. It can't."

Lightning could see her father's shoulders tense. His eyes spoke volumes and she could see silent anger swimming in those steely blue pools that reminded her so much of her sister's. "And why's that?"

"Two other girls. We were with two other girls. They're minors, just like us, and they were handcuffed and beaten then carted away. I'm not even sure if they were read their rights. You… You've gotta do something to help them."

"The Pulse girls." Farron's voice dripped with contempt. "They're not my problem. They're not yours either."

"But they've been transferred to PSICOM. If you can get us out of—"

Lightning couldn't even finish her sentence before her father had stepped into her, pushing her back into the cell with a finger pointed in her face. "Do you know how many strings I've already had to pull to make sure that the three of you get out with your reputations unscathed?" The question was growled through gritted teeth. "Not only did those two girls break multiple laws, but they also put you in danger. That, I cannot forgive. Let the justice system handle it."

Lightning tried to steel herself when looking in her father's eyes, but it was hard to pull off when she couldn't stop her body from trembling. By now she had been pushed to back of the cell, her back against the wall. Her father eyed her down one last time and released a disappointed breath before turning on his heel to exit the cell. Lightning didn't know why she said what she did next. It was the last thing that she wanted to say to her dad in that moment, but it just flew out of her mouth. "I did it."

Farron paused and turned to look at his eldest once more. "What?"

"I did it." Lightning tried her best to stand straight despite the inside feeling that was telling her to find a corner and hide. "It was my idea to break into that room. I dragged everyone along with me, against their will. I most certainly attacked an arresting officer… and I touched a lot of things in the Vestige that had the 'Do Not Touch' sign tagged to them."

The guard sitting behind the desk gave a low whistle that quickly turned into a cough when Farron shot him an over-the-shoulder glare.

"Shouldn't you be writing this down?" Lightning's attention was now on the guard. "I'm confessing my crimes."

The guard jumped, somewhat startled by the bluntness of the young girl. His main duty was to watch the drunk-tank cell and he wasn't used to people actually confessing to or being responsible for less-than-obvious crimes. It was also a bit unsettling how much the young girl resembled the esteemed man, also standing in the office, who had become famous for quickly climbing through PSICOM's ranks. The guard uneasily pulled out a tape recorder from his desk drawer. "I, uh, wasn't ready to tape a confession."

"That's fine. I'll repeat it."

"Ok—"

"No, she won't," Farron snapped. "Put that damned thing away. Claire," Farron was on his daughter in an instant, tightly gripping her around the arm and lifting her off the ground so that she was nearly face-to-face with him.

"Dad, I know you have a lot of pull around here, but if I keep confessing to the wrong people… this could end up being quite the story. And I have at least four eye witnesses to back me up."

Farron gritted his teeth and his chest heaved with every breath. Lightning had never seen her father so angry before. "Aughh." He threw her arm back forcefully, causing her to stumble backwards and into the wall behind her. He strode out of the cell and stopped at the guard's desk. "Phone."

The officer handed over his communication device. He nervously glanced from one pink-headed family member to the other. Farron greeted whoever picked up the phone and started going through standard procedure conversation. He then turned, never breaking icy eye contact with his daughter the entire time. "…Yes, the two Oerban girls. … Release them to their parents immediately. … I want the cells cleaned early tomorrow morning. ... Yes, you can strike the record as well. … As you so please. … Affirmative."

Lightning slowly straightened and dusted herself off. Her father turned towards the door, not giving her a second glance as he led them out of the small station.

"The Yun clan takes pride in its scars. We like PSICOM's the best, because every one scar stands for five of y'all who got yer asses handed to 'em."

"Haha, oh yeah?" One of three guards who walked beside her laughed. "How much are you and your people going to love that one, sweetheart." He made a swiping motion with his finger across his un-helmeted head in reference to the huge gash that he knew to be on the girl's.

"Hmm. I'm pretty sure a lot. Cause that one stands for ten." She felt a hand roughly push her between her shoulder blades, causing her to stumble forward as she walked. The guards chuckled lightly, watching her try to regain her balance. It was harder than usual with the binds around her ankles, hands, and neck.

Once she did regain her bearings somewhat, she raised her head slightly to look around the hallway that she was being led down. She couldn't see that well from the crude bandages she had made from ripping the sleeves and midriff area of her shirt to wrap around the left side of her head, but even without the bandages she wouldn't be able to see from her left eye anyway. There was a constant, throbbing ache from her left temple, and making quick movements sometimes made her dizzy.

"Greeves, guess who I just got off the phone with?" A fourth soldier approached them from further down the hall. He stopped and turned his head in Fang's direction. Although she couldn't see his face through his helmet, she could imagine the type of look he was giving her. She bared her teeth at him and he made an amused noise. "So this is the wild one I've been hearing about… Where's she going?"

The un-helmeted guard shrugged. "Since she's so fond of going on field trips, we thought we'd take her on one. Phone call?"

"Oh. Yeah. It was Colonel Farron. Seems like this one's got some friends in high places, huh?"

Fang's head perked up on hearing the familiar surname.

"Oh, really?" The un-masked guard was continuing. "Who'da thunk it? So what did old Farron have to say?"

Fang squinted her eye at the new guard. She knew she wouldn't be able to get a good look at her 'escorts' as long as they wore their helmets, but she had already etched the face of unmasked one, with the wide nose, brown spot on his forehead, and dusty brown hair, into her memory.

"Let her and the other one go. First thing in the morning."

"Ohh… First thing in the morning?" Fang didn't even have to look back in the man's direction. She could practically hear him smiling. "Not tonight? Well, maybe not good enough friends in high places."

"Yep. 'Release them to their parents immediately… but make sure the cells are cleaned by tomorrow morning'," the new guard chuckled lightly.

"Nice. Did he have any other requests?"

"Just that we don't mark their records. I don't think he wants it to come back and haunt the other three involved. They sound like good kids."

"Makes sense. And it's not like we probably won't be seeing this one here again anyway." The unmasked guard yanked at the leash-like constraint that had been clamped around Fang's neck. The girl grimaced as her head was quickly jerked backwards. "No stipulations?"

The new guard shook his head. "Nothing on that end. Pretty much, have fun."

"Is that so? Well, goody. Then we don't have to cancel our field trip after all." Fang felt another hard shove to her back. It was their way of telling her to start walking again. She wobbled forward before settling back into step.

"Hey, Yun," one of the guards said after they had made a couple of turns and descended down a long stairwell. "What was that you were saying earlier about hunting prowess?"

Fang didn't answer but continued to walk forward, silently taking in her surroundings. They entered through a heavy door and into a dimmer lit hall that smelled strongly of wet fur and urine. The hall was lined with more cells, but these cells were much bigger than the one that Fang had been pulled out of earlier. Fang eyed the thick, grid-like bars warily. They stopped in front of one particular grid door. "This the one for the dogs, right?" one of the guards asked. He was answered by a confirmatory hum.

"Good," the unmasked guard said. "Yun, do you believe in fate?"

Fang peered through the gaps in the entrance, trying to make out any discernable shapes in the darkness with her good eye. From the behind the entry she could make out a mixture of panting, growling, and whimpering sounds.

All the while, the man continued talking. "Because I do. That's why I think it's fate that brought you here to us today. Not too long ago, I got a call saying that one of the lobos placed in this here hallway somehow escaped from its enclosure and is teasing the other animals. And almost immediately afterwards, I got another call saying that you were also causing a ruckus and teasing the other animals in your enclosure as well."

The man placed his hand on Fang's shoulder. "Now, if that wasn't fate all by itself, think of how ecstatic I was to hear that you are a 'mighty' Yun huntress. I mean, it's like Etro delivered you to this very place just for me, because now I'm going to need you to showcase these great skills of yours by hunting one of your Pulsian kinfolk in there."

"GRAN Pulsian," Fang snarled.

The guard sucked his teeth as one of the other guards cautiously unlocked the huge door. Fang felt all of her constraints loosen and fall simultaneously before she was shoved into the newly opened hallway. She stilled herself for a moment, hoping the throbbing in her head would settle after the quick movement.

"Here!" A smile spread across the guard's face. He reached back and grabbed a large, semi-thick stick that one of the other guards had grabbed from somewhere else in the room. "You might need this." He tossed the limb to Fang, who easily caught it with one hand.

She studied the stick in her hand, lightly tossing and turning it in order to get a feel for it. It didn't feel too dense and the ends were rotted and blunt. "This doesn't look too useful. Why don't you give me your gun instead?"

"Ha! You'll be lucky I don't give you the butt of it again by the end of the night," the guard laughed as the heavy grid door was clanged shut again.

Fang groused and held up the stick defensively as she crouched into a hunting position she had learned from some of her elders. From the dim lighting of the hall, she could make out the barred entrances of some of the enclosures. "Can ya at least turn on a light or somethin'?" she asked, glancing over her shoulder at the men on the other side of the door.

"Turn on the lights? And take the fun out of the hunt for you? Now why would we do that?"

Fang let out a low, irritated growl and once again tried to focus on her surroundings. She could hear claws clicking on the floor as some of the animals paced and the low warning grumbles some of them bellowed. Fang's body tensed in anxious expectation. She didn't at all expect the creature that excitedly sprang forward from the darkness.

YIP! YIP! YIP!

"A puppy?"

A small lobo pup dashed forward, yipping and growling the whole way. Fang felt her cheeks grow hot in humiliation. Roaring laughter from behind filled her ears. It was soon accompanied by the howls of the bigger dogs in their cages. The puppy ran around Fang in circles, an immature instinct for how to stalk its prey. When it was satisfied, it lunged forward to snap at her ankles. With little effort, Fang yanked her foot away from the tiny jaws' reach and swung the stick around to give the pup a hard whack to its backside. The puppy yelped and skittered back down the dark hallway and away from its much bigger opponent, whimpering the entire time. "Really? Y'all are sooooooo funny." Fang put her hands on her hips and looked back towards the guards who were now hunched over in laughter.

"For all this, ya could've just let me—" ROARRRRRR!

Fang barely had time to turn her head back down the hall and roll out of the way before the body of a giant wolf leapt toward her. "Shit!" She cursed, sliding across the floor. Her head was pounding.

"How ya like our puppy?" A voice jeered from the outside.

Fang stared into the giant Lobo's eyes with her one good one. She wasn't sure if she was up for- The lobo once again flew at her. Fang lifted the stick in defense, but the damn thing snapped in two from the weight of the beast. Fang slid backwards, trying to avoid the powerful snaps of the fiend. The lobo ceased its forward onslaught and slowly paced around the girl in a much more tempered manner than the puppy had earlier. Fang gripped a broken piece of stick in each hand, rising to her feet and turning so that the lobo couldn't get behind her.

The fiend pounced inward again, furiously swiping in the air. Fang batted one of the giant paws away and jumped backwards to avoid the second. "AHHHHHHH!" An immediate pain shot through her right shoulder as deep claws pierced skin. She had gotten too close to the bars of one of the enclosures and a beast from inside had taken the chance to swipe at her.

Fang spun around, her feet carrying her to the middle of the wide hall to avoid any more guest attackers. The lobo was slowly stalking forward again. Fang lunged and attempted to stab the beast in the eye, but it was too quick. It snapped at her hand and she quickly pulled it back before she lost it. It only took a few more swipes and attempted blocks for the lobo to break the two sticks Fang had been holding, rendering them small and useless. She threw the scraps to the side, crouching and taking slow steps backwards. She could still hear the guards cheering and whistling. Once again the lobo pounced. Fang was nearly blinded by the pain in her head, but she knew she was on her back. She could feel the smoothed cement beneath her. And her hands… each hand was tightly grasped around something huge and furry. Fang tried to focus but all she could see was white. White fur. She was under the lobo, a beast that should've outweighed and out-powered her by at least two times, holding its gigantic paws away from her. How the… The whistling from the opposite end of the hall had stopped and was replaced by soft murmuring. The soldiers must've been wondering the same thing as Fang, while the lobo above her struggled fiercely to get its jaws close enough to snap into Fang's neck.

"Call him off!" Fang tried to shout, but her voice only came out as squeaky pants. If they didn't do something… If she didn't do something… She was going to die here. She was going to leave Vanille alone, in a crowded cell, only to deal with the repercussions by herself for the rest of her days. She'd probably be much more prone to getting picked up again. Fang's face grew hot and her body tensed. She couldn't let that happen. She hated the circumstance that she was in. She hated Cocoon. She hated PSICOM. She hated silver lobos. She hated Colonel Farron. She hated them all, and everything that they did to try and ruin her life. What if she had the power to ruin theirs? What if she could?

Her hands began to quake with anger, her teeth clenching down. The pain in her head felt as if it were beginning to dull and an unfamiliar hot spark surged through her, starting in her chest and flowing to her shoulders and down to her hands. Her hands that clutched the lobo's paws and were now glowing white.

Fang knew something was wrong. She knew this was not normal. She wasn't sure if she was hallucinating or not. That hot surge suddenly shot out of her hands and thrust the lobo backwards, sending it flying across the hall. The lobo crashed into heavy grid entrance at the other end of the hall and crumpled to the floor, not moving a bit. Fang stared at it wide eyed from her own place on the floor. She didn't hear any noise from the men, but the pain in her head had returned with a vengeance.

The guards' voices then returned.

"What the hell just happened?"

"I dunno. It was too dark and she was too far back. What'd she do?"

"Must've kicked it in the 'nads or something while we couldn't see."

"I thought it was a girl…"

"She had to have cheated somehow. Look at her."

Fang felt delirious. She slowly lay back down on the concrete. In her head, she just kept repeating, "I ruined it…"

Serah sat silently on her bed, knees hugging her chest. She had no idea what had happened, but not too long ago she heard the downstairs door open with a clang. She had grabbed the closest thing to a weapon that she could find, a glittery baton, and snatched her cell phone from off her desk, hiding behind her closet door.

"I have NEVER been so ashamed of you!" a familiar voice boomed from the lower floor. "What were you even thinking?!"

"Daddy…?" Serah mouthed, glancing at her watch for the time. Her father rarely came home so early in the day. It was more common for him to enter the house around the time that she and Lightning were preparing for bed and he was almost always gone again before they woke up.

"You didn't see the way they were treating them!" Claire's voice sounded strained, like she was pleading with the man.

"Like criminals? Who were attacking members of the force?"

"But Dad—"

"But nothing! Go to your room while I think of something to do with you. NOW!"

Serah crept out of her room and into the upstairs hallway, hoping to get a visual of the two. She had never heard her father sound so angry… She had actually never heard her sister and father arguing before. She froze upon hearing the rapid thumping of feet as Lightning appeared before her in the hall. She looked horrible. Her hair was mussed up and all over her head, and her eyes were red and watery. She looked to be on the verge of tears although not a single one slid down her cheek.

"Claire…" Serah spoke in barely a whisper, which earned her a long, hard look as Lightning passed.

"Not now, Serah." Lightning never slowed her tempo as she walked into her own room, shutting the door behind her.

Serah stood rooted to the spot, wondering what in the world was going on. Her father was the next to appear in the hallway. His brows were creased downward in an angry fashion and his chest and shoulders heaved with each fuming breath he took. He froze for a second to peer at his youngest child, who stood paralyzed in the middle of the hall. "Dad?"

"Serah, you should go to your room too." His voice was much softer than it had been downstairs, but there was still a firm resoluteness to it that made it clear to her that this was not a request.

"Oh-okay." Serah slowly nodded. She watched as the pink-haired soldier marched to his room on the opposite side of the upstairs hall and also closed the door with a resounding slam, leaving Serah by herself in the hallway.

That was over half an hour ago. Not too long afterwards, she heard the shower from her shared bathroom cut on. She slowly walked to the door, softly trying the handle. She had hoped to slip in and ask Lightning about what had happened while her guard was down, but the eldest Farron daughter had locked the door. She stole a peek at her phone. No new messages. After the chaos, she had texted Snow and then Vanille, wanting to talk with someone. She hoped it would help ease her nerves or take her mind off the thick tension that had flooded the house, but neither friend had texted back. So Serah continued to sit on her bed, knees lifted to her chest, feeling lost.

Lightning leaned forward against her forearms, which were resting against the tile wall of the shower. Her eyes were closed and her head pressed against one of her arms. She stood there, taking slow, deep breaths, and letting the hot water wash over her. She finally lifted her head back up, running a hand to push water and her soaking wet hair out of her face. Her other hand lightly grazed the new mark above her breast that looked nearly identical to the one on Hope's wrist.

A/N: Welllll, that escalated quickly. Sorry if it's a bit too over the top. It's been kind of a long/stressful week for me, so while I was writing this chapter I felt like someone just had to get an ass whoopin. Unfortunately, Fang pulled the short straw and got two. And thanks for all the reviews! I really do appreciate them. I'm planning on posting the next couple chapters sooner than later so I can get most of the stage-setting drama out of y'all way and start getting to more of (what I consider) the fun stuff.